Mitnick Lands in Solitary

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Mitnick Lands in Solitary

Alleged software thief Kevin Mitnick has been in solitary confinement at the Los Angeles Metropolitan Detention Center since Friday apparently for hoarding 74 cans of tuna in his cell, his lawyer said.

"Our sources say he is indeed a repeat violator of the unauthorized possession of tuna," said Mitnick's attorney, Donald C. Randolph.

Reports that Mitnick was placed in solitary for possession of back issues of the hacker magazine 2600 are apparently not true.

"It does seem a little severe," Randolph said, but he added that Mitnick had been warned several times by the center's authorities when caught with tuna in his cell. Randolph was confident that Mitnick would be out of solitary by Tuesday morning.

Officials at the LA detention center said Monday only that Mitnick was placed in solitary confinement for "security reasons."

Mitnick was arrested in February 1995 after a nationwide search by federal investigators that later became the subject of several books. He faces three separate federal indictments: possession of cellular phone account information; violating the conditions of a supervised release program that relates to a 1989 conviction of computer fraud; and for alleged computer fraud committed between November 1992 and his arrest in 1995.

On 31 September, Mitnick and his longtime friend Lewis DePayne pleaded not guilty to charges that they allegedly stole millions of dollars in software from computer companies all over the world. Mitnick's next court date is scheduled for 21 January, said an assistant to his attorney.

When asked why Mitnick would have so many cans of tuna in his cell, Mitnick's lawyer answered, "Fish is brain food, you know."